Why is progress with motoring so slow..?

[John K]

And yes we can all point to the Bugatti Veyron or 400 mpg hybrids but, think about it, its barely a 100 years since the Wright brothers looked at a bedstead and went "We wonder..." and we have been able to drink a G&T at Mach 2, get to the moon and a 30 year old piece of tech is leaving the solar system. 

 

And look at this picture (just some random storage found in my Junk Drawer)...

 

 

Top left is a memory card from my first digital camera bought in the year 2000, bottom right is 1,000 times the storage in a considerable smaller package for a lot less cost.

 

What sort of performance / economy / safety would we have in cars is they followed the same trends.

 

Why so slow..?

[Kit Car Electronics]

Really?? All that technology found in your junk drawer is also in your new car. They talk to you, avoid crashing into other cars by themselves, cushion you in pillows in an accident and correct your driving inadequacies whilst being cheaper to buy than ever, in real terms.

What do you want next, flight?

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

I'm curious why you think it is that slow?

 

In the time frame you're talking about, and given that you've broadened the scope to include vast budget government projects and one off mission specific craft, then doing the same with cars, we've gone from steam power in a few miles an hour to petrol, diesel compression engines, hybrids and pure electric power, rocket and jet power. We've seen Mach 1 exceeded, and 1000 miles an hour on the cards soon.

 

On another metric, we've seen real world ownership costs plunge. We've seen safety (the built in type) increase beyond all recognition.

 

Electronics have played their part in safety and ease of use, making many of the old chores a thing of the past. We've seen the working life of ordinary vehicles, available to the average man in the street double and treble in just thirty years or so.

 

Fully autonomous vehicles are out there and testing now, and have been to various levels of sophistication for a few years.

 

There are of course things that slow down the adoption of new technologies, all sorts of legislation for safety etc. 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

I suppose if you wanted to narrow the frame of reference down to just the memory/processor power question then again, developments have to a greater or lesser extent, tracked the field of consumer electronics.

 

To a greater extent, then you have to look at the research projects and one offs. The autonomous vehicles in development for public consumption, or actually in use in government and military circles are a classic example. But work on whole vehicle control for efficiency/emissions control are another less obvious one - integrating how lighting, hvac and braking energy recovery is tied into engine management functions to improve efficiency without heavy performance compromises.

 

And I said to a lesser extent, because for all we moan about cars reliability, a level of reliability accepted in the IT hardware world, (at the sort of disposable memory card level you mention) just wouldn't be acceptable in the automotive world, especially where lives are at risk.

 

Think of the it level of automotive infrastructure as closer to say big-iron server technology. 

[s2rrr]

I guess Dave alluded to it, most progress if probably made during military skirmishes maybe we are being too peaceful but that doesn't seem to fit in with whats going on in the numerous hot spots around the world.

 

Bob

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

And for a left field couple of answers! 

 

One of of the greatest developments in transport is broadband technology! At a stroke, reducing the need to even use transport for lots of people that would have otherwise had to physically attend some meetings and to work at least part of the time remotely!

 

Not sure that we're quite there yet, though possibly near in some other countries, but a public transport equivalent to broadband for those that simply must work in or travel to a specific location.

[jeff oakley]

I can understand where he is coming from. The big problem is many of the things, like planes are flown by professionals, cars are driven by the public, from places where there are no licence to our controlled roads.

They could have done much more, Saab had a car ready to go with a Joystick for all controls, made left right hand easy with heads up display. It was stopped by the EU as they felt that ordinary people would not adapt.

Every facet or our lives is about going faster, fast food, broadband speeds, computers, flight, but with cars we are now tinkering with control which ultimately will take driving away from the masses. Upper and middle class will have autonomus cars whilst the masses will be forced by cost onto public transport.

Bill gates once said allegedly that if cars had developed at the pace computers have, we would have flying cars already.

[John K]

I still think I have a point, all the mega exciting 'driving' stuff like Bloodhound etc comes from mill/aero/space tech.

Until recently and I mean very recently all cars are still propelled by a series of explosions.

At the very most car tech has increased by a 100 fold, millitary, space and aero has gone up by a 1,000

OK I drew a pretty broad scope, but at the private transport end for the masses, you are going to have to work hard to convince me that 'cars' have progressed as much as air travel or computing.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

But you've been able to buy "flying cars" for decades! (Neither cheaply nor practically, I grant you) Turns out not hat many people really want them

[Welly Jen]

.Bill gates once said allegedly that if cars had developed at the pace computers have, we would have flying cars already.

But if Bill Gates had been in charge of developing our cars then they would crash at least once a day. To get them to do anything you would have to open a window. To make them stop you would need to press the Start button.

An old joke I know, but couldn't resist.

Jen

[SootySport]

But if Bill Gates had been in charge of developing our cars then they would crash at least once a day. To get them to do anything you would have to open a window. To make them stop you would need to press the Start button.

An old joke I know, but couldn't resist.

Jen

.....and then you would have the message come up "Are you sure you want to do this"

[Lyonspride]

Perhaps some of the reason for such slow and steady progress is the fact that cars are a huge risk for manufacturers, every change in vehicle technology is hindered by the question "could this kill someone?" or rather "how much might we get sued for if this kills someone?".

[Rory's Dad]

Perhaps some of the reason for such slow and steady progress is the fact that cars are a huge risk for manufacturers, every change in vehicle technology is hindered by the question "could this kill someone?" or rather "how much might we get sued for if this kills someone?".

 

So who'll be reponsible when a driverless car has a crash??

[Lyonspride]

So who'll be reponsible when a driverless car has a crash??

 

Well, driverless cars have been having crashes, but to date none of them could be blamed on the technology. The cars are programmed to drive to the letter of the law.

 

A lot of time and research has gone into this and the manufacturers know it's worth pursuing, because most drivers out there are utter morons.

[Scottish Bloke]

Having worked in the motor industry for 20+ years you would not believe the advances in car technology both in equipment and build materials.

 

6 - 10 different steels in a Ford Fiesta for example, 5+ joining techniques, bonding welding, self piercing rivets etc etc. The equipment to repair them has also dramatically changed, in the last 5 years I have spent over 20k on 3 spot welders. (The Machine Mart ones don't do 13000 amps)

 

The limitation in my opinion is who can repair them, the spotty can't be bothered youth no longer cuts it!